"This station was opened not by the government but by the struggles of their employees," said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Wednesday. "It is a celebration of democracy."
Write Athens, it's hard to feel the contempt of many Greeks felt to miss, along with grim satisfaction. After the under (IMF) austerity IMF two years ago closed the Greek state television ERT, has just come back in the air.
"Today we are all should be happy and look to the future with optimism," Tspiras said, during a visit to the station, to draw attention to the airwaves, that "the just struggles finally claimed".
Many ordinary Greeks were surprised and offended if ERT was closed in June 2013 to meet the bail conditions imposed by international creditors Greece. So Syriza, elected on a wave of popular discontent in January passed a bill with Tsipras calling the diffuser reopen "a crime against the Greek people and democracy."
ERT will now be financed by an additional monthly fee to Greek citizens, with most of the 2,500 employees of the station to return to their jobs - a direct violation of bail conditions.
On the same day, the start ERT, Greek Foreign elected treasurer to stop the negotiations with Athens. "The ball is now largely in the area of Greece," said Gerry Rice, the IMF, according to the "lack of progress" in the marathon negotiations in Brussels, with the two sides to return.
- James Quinn: Is Greece at risk of becoming the next Zimbabwe?
Greece's creditors remain deeply unhappy about Athens offers economic reforms in exchange for the end of 7200000000 € (€ 5.2 billion) the part of the bailout money, part of an earlier agreement, which expires at the end of June. With Greece due to the IMF by then € 1.6 billion with another € 5.2 billion of short-term bonds, because the money is important in order to avoid a failure.
Then there is the 5900000000 € Athens end of July - including € 3500000000 to the European Central Bank (ECB). Plus another billion € 4.4 billion paid up to the central bank of the euro area at the end of August € 3.2.
If Greece defaults IMF - which now seems inevitable, unless the institution in Washington comes - there are months of red tape to get through before something actually happens. If Athens defies the ECB, although Greek banks by law lose credit lines to prevent them from implosion and continued, the country on the economic water.
Non-performing loans reported today 90 billion € staggering 42PC of GDP compared to 2012, when the existential crisis began in earnest € 56 billion. If Greece defaults on the ECB to collapse the banks immediately to vaporize savings and there will be unrest.
Given the timing of actual payments penalize the coming months not on the gigantic 320.000.000.000 € sovereign debt, mentioning that a decline in the terms of insurance, combined with a wider type of debt relief now has to produce. The sooner it is detected if Greece leaves the euro or not, it is more likely to avoid serious disturbances, and in fact, with the exception of Greek democracy.
The idea that Syriza will see the light and to accept IMF demands on taxes, pension reform and everything else is nonsense. For concessions already made to the Greek government has lost the support of large sections of the population. Here in Athens, an amalgam of unions occupied the Finance Ministry, flags representing Tspiras with the former Prime Minister George Papandreou and Antonis Samaras, as "not responsible for our country to pull out of the crisis."
A threatened sovereign default in Europe's borders have long to unleash another Lehman moment crazy sending financial markets around the world recovery and return. What must be avoided at all costs. Western negotiators and their political masters should also note that, as Syriza can not get a kind of "price" of the stand-off, it is likely that the patchwork of small parties, the most radical Greek some pretty unpleasant win, to influence - and perhaps even power. Have negotiations taken place, and broken friendships, lost tempers. Now is the time to make an agreement before the situation - in the financial markets, the streets or two - spirals out of control.
And the hope of a resolution, many discussions here in Athens - either with government officials, business people and taxi drivers - back to Russia soon. In this column a few months ago said that "the question of sanctions imposed by the Russian renewal play an important role in the next line to Greece to keep the euro zone". This comes to pass.
The EU has until the end of July or to renew sanctions against Russia to decide. While the likes of the UK and Germany are aware of how what will happen, the reality is that the unanimity of the 28 EU Member States is necessary.
Several countries have indicated that they do not play ball, including Spain, Italy and especially Greece. Their reasons are different - not only closer trade relations with Russia, but also the desire for influence in Brussels to be used in other negotiations. In the case of Athens, but it is even more at stake.
"The fact that Greece crippled by debt, that does not mean they tied the hands and feet and has no independent foreign policy," Vladimir Putin said recently. "Greece earn hundreds of millions of euros for gas transit."
As soon as the EU sanctions against Russia in March 2014, Moscow reacted by blocking agricultural exports to Russia. It ruined farmers from Western Europe before the show some penalties are one third of exports of fruit and vegetables sold in the EU in Russia, and a quarter of the exported meat.
Less far he stated that Russia has also been canceled "South Stream" - a pipeline from the Black Sea, which was intended to pump Russian gas to Bulgaria (in the EU since 2007, of course). This pipeline was "Turkstream" go through the Black Sea to Turkey on the spot (in the EU). This deviation related sanctions could cause headaches for the EU, because Turkey is much more powerful than Bulgaria and Western Europe depends on Russia for 30pc of oil and gas.
Turkstream, which will open its doors in December 2016, Athens also comes into play, when it was built, is the only way to get gas via Greece to Western Europe Turkstream -. Generating not only transit fees, but also subsidized the prospect of Athens on Russian gas.
It was for a long time, Moscow could play a role in this confrontation in the Greek EU providing funds play clearly. Russia helped save Cyprus after all, and the connections between Athens and Moscow are deep, on trade to culture and the Orthodox Church.
The Chinese could also play a role - given the strategic importance of Greece and a general interest dissolved in the euro debacle. Beijing has already bought Piraeus, the third largest port in Greece, and was recently the purchase of Greek government bonds.
What is emerging is the degree of policy involved pipelines. Greek Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis existed in the past week, the agreement Turkstream Greece will be "soon" signed to extend. It must be said, put in my calculations, using gas quantities available and transport costs comparable to Greece also stand to gain by less than € 1 billion per year Turkstream - so much difference of its public finances will not make. And the expansion threatened can not happen.
Note, however, that the negotiations between the EU and Greek, as well as financial, and geopolitics. As ERT, now back in business certainly clear.
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